Oct 21 (AD) Convener of National People’s Council Chameera Perera says that several carrying out prez election propaganda from the Gotabaya Rajapaksa camp spreads racism. A press conference of the National People’s Council was held in Hatton today, where Perera expressed these views. He says that speakers at the Gotabaya Rajapaksa camp such as parliamentarians Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila act in a manner that instigates racism & religionism more..

Oct 21 (CT) General Secretary of the JHU, Minister Champika Ranawaka, is said to have quit the UNP's social media campaign since last Friday (18). An office maintained by Ranawaka for such campaigns, has been closed due to a dispute which arose in connection with the Prez election campaign, Visumpaya internal sources said. A group of 30, led by Ranawaka, who had conducted social media-related activities, from an office at Visumpaya, for Prez candidate Sajith Premadasa's more..

Oct 21 (CT) Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratna today ordered Minister Ravi Karunanayaka, to provide a statement to the CID within a week in order to help them conclude the probe into the case, where he has been charged with giving false evidence before the PCoI, which probed the CB Bonds scam. Magistrate Jayaratna gave this order following a request made by State Counsel Nadee more..

Oct 21 (RN) Sri Lanka updated the global healthcare community last week on progress made in advancing mental health, in an address to the WHO Mental Health Forum in Geneva. Speaking at the event, Permanent Representative of SL in Geneva Amb. A.L.A Azeez spelt out out improvements made in healthcare support for mental health patients as well as steps taken to improve the “working environment that could foster good health and wellbeing among the SL population.” more..

Oct 21 (AD) MP Wijeydasa Rajapakshe has served a Letter of Demand to Lawyer Pradhan Ranagala over a case of defamation of character, states Attorney at Law Nilantha Kumarage, Media Secretary to the MP. Kumarage pointed out that Lawyer Ranagala has continuously posted statements on Facebook that humiliate and tarnish the image of MP Rajapakshe. He says a Letter of Demand was served to Ranagala through Attorney at Law Sanath Wijewardena, seeking more..

Oct 21 (DM) The Court of Appeal (CA) today issued notices on Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera and SSP Anuruddha Hakmana and HQI Senadhipathi K.D. de Silva of Mullaitivu returnable for Nov 8. The bench comprising Justices Yasantha Kodagoda (President/CA) and Arjuna Obeysekara after having satisfied on the material placed and submission made ordered to issue notices. more..

Oct 21 (EN) SL can make farming more productive using emerging technologies of the so-called fourth industrial revolution (4IR), researchers at Colombo based IPS have said. Manoj Thibbotuwawa and Nimesha Dissanayaka write that rapid population growth has put tremendous pressure on the world’s agricultural systems to provide safe andnutritious food “Unfortunately, productivity growth has been hampered by land and water resources degradation andclimate change,” they say. more..

Oct 21 (AD) Police have launched an investigation following the discovery of a married couple who had been hacked to death inside their home in the Agalawatta police area. The couple was found dead last evening inside a line house at Thennahena Estate in Omatta, Agalawatta following information received by the police emergency hotline service (119). The deceased have been identified as Kasthuri Arachchige Thilakasiri (52) and his wife, Jayawardena Liyanage Chandani (49). more..

Oct 21 (TM) The Jathika Jana Balavegaya (JJB), led by the JVP says it is not in agreement with the merge of the North and East of the country, one of the 13 demands put forth by the Tamil political parties. “We cannot allow the North and the East to be merged, this is a separatist request,” JVP MP Vijitha Herath said at a press conference today. Five Tamil political parties last week signed a memorandum highlighting more..

Oct 21 (AD) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe’s request to meet with the Tamil Makkal Kootani (TMK) separately was rejected, stated TMK Leader C. V. Wigneswaran. Former NP Governor stated that he informed the UNP Leader that they will only join a discussion that is held with the participation of the other Tamil parties who signed the proposal submitted for the consideration of the prez candidates. Five Tamil political parties signed and submitted a 13-point proposal to candidates more..

Oct 21 (EN) Sri Lanka has issued mandatory guidelines for govt procurement aimed at ensuring value for money that includes penalties for corrupt practices such as contractors being barred from future procurements. The guidelines published by the National Procurement Commission are for procurement of goods, works, services and information systems and selection and employment of consultants by govt institutions. They aim to establish governing principles & procedures more..

Oct 21 (DM) The prez candidate of the UNF-led alliance, Sajith Premadasa said he would not continue the kind of administration that ruled the county for the past four and a half years but opted for a change. He made this remark at an election rally held in Kotmale. “If elected to office, I will embark on a new journey. Some wonder as to whether I would continue with the same kind of administration that ruled more..

Oct 22 (CT) Last Thursday (16) was a great day for Sri Lanka. Jaffna international Airport was opened. It offered great opportunity for integrating Jaffna with the rest of Sri Lanka; for tourists from Tamil Nadu (having the largest number of tourists in India) to hop over to Jaffna and visit – besides Jaffna – Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, Polannaruwa, Trinco, etc.; and for industrial collaboration with India and industrial powerhouse Tamil Nadu. It was an event I could not miss. more..

Oct 22 (CT) On Oct 9, 2019, the SLFP formally announced that it would support Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the candidate of the SLPP, for president. The decision seems to have sealed the outcome of the election in favor of Gotabaya. More, on this later. The decision was made after a prolonged struggle within the SLFP. The party had been grappling with the question, how to approach the prez election, ever since it became clear that an SLFP candidate cannot win. more..

Oct 22 (CT) State Minister Ashok Abesinghe says he is confident DNF Prez candidate Sajith Premadasa will win the election with 55% of the votes. Q: You allowed the railway strike to drag on without thinking of the people. Were you responsible for it? A: It is not like that. Trade unions need to inform us seven days before they go on strike in writing. The least they should have done is inform us previous day. But they did not. more..

Oct 22 (ST) The uncertainties, confusion, and distractions of the prez polls will retard economic growth. The adverse impacts could go beyond the prez election timeframe to a post-election period of political confusion and even a constitutional crisis. Furthermore, once the prez polls are over, the runup to the parliamentary elections would be another period of uncertainty for the economy. This political uncertainty is not conducive for economic growth and resolving the massive financial problems more..

Oct 22 (ST) One of the more interesting features of the coming battle for the presidency is how national security has become a central issue. It might be said that security — and who can best provide and sustain it — seems to have pushed aside other key concerns of the people. They said that good generals would try to choose the terrain that suits them best to fight on. That might not be always possible today because warfare now is often against an unseen enemy. more..

Oct 22 (CT) The four-year-old toddler is screaming for his mother to return home and lead him to and from the nearby Montessori which he attends, but sadly this will never be the case. Yenula Savisara's mother, Amali, was among the 106 persons to die in the 21 April massacre at the St. Sebastian's Catholic Church in Katuwapitiya-Negombo, carried out by an Islamic fundamentalist suicide bomber. more..

Oct 22 (Island) The prez electoral maelstrom is more preoccupying than the seamless climatic shift from unusual inter-monsoonal storms to regular northeastern monsoons. The election campaign is officially two-weeks old and will be over in another four weeks. The monsoons are just starting and have months to go before they cease. Already, there are landslide and flood warnings for several districts which will determine the distinct paths to victory that the two leading prez candidates must more..

Oct 22 (ST) "Aiyo …egollo apahu eka karanava (They are doing it again),” exclaimed Mabel Rasthiyadu. “Monawa (What)?” asked Kussi Amma Sera, seated with the other two under the margosa tree. “Aei porondu denawa (Why…making promises)” replied Mabel Rasthiyadu. “Nomile pohora, govinta sahana saha badu adu kirima (Free fertiliser, relief for farmers and reduced taxes),” interjected Serapina with loud laughter. “Me porondu walin minissunge adahas venas wei-da more..

Oct 22 (Island) The global liberal mafia has already begun mobilizing against the Rajapaksas in anticipation of their return to power. Last Friday, Brahma Chellaney of the American funded New Delhi based NGO Centre for Policy Research wrote an article to the international web page Project Syndicate on the possible return of the Rajapaksas to power with the apocalyptic sounding title The End of SL Democracy? Chellaney is an interesting character. He is the spin doctor credited with more..

Oct 22 (Island) It is said that victory has a thousand fathers and defeat is an orphan. Everybody now wants to take the credit for defeating terrorism. Those who opposed the war tooth and nail and condemned the military, during the height of the Vanni conflict, are now using former war-winning army commander Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka to score political points. Fonseka has sought to settle old scores with SLPP presidential candidate and war-time Defence Secretary Gotabaya more..

Oct 22 (EN) SL’s inflation will spike in the coming months before falling next year, central bank said as consumer prices in the 12-months to Sept rose to 5%. The country-wide National Consumer Price also accelerated to 5% in Sept, broadly in line with the nation-wide index. One of the reasons rates were not cut in October despite low growth was because of rising inflation, CB has said. “The inflation rate is likely to go up towards more..

Oct 22 (BBC) Six months ago, on Easter Sunday, Sri Lanka was hit by one of the world’s worst terrorist attacks this century. The town of Negombo suffered the deadliest bombing, when 115 people died while attending Mass. Hasaru Jayakody lost his mother in the explosion – and spent his 17th birthday recovering from shrapnel injuries in hospital. BBC correspondent Caroline Hawley went to find out how Hasaru and his community are recovering. Filmed and edited by Samantha Everett. more..

Oct 22 (FT) Hafez Centre for Cultural Understanding (HCCU) of the Pathfinder Foundation, in collaboration with the Embassy of Iran, organised a Roundtable to commemorate the Hafez Day on Friday at the Iranian Cultural Center. The theme of the Roundtable was Peace, Tolerance, Coexistence and Solidarity, according to Hafez School of Thought, which was a very timely and a relevant topic in the context of present Sri Lanka. Khwaja Shams-ud-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi, more..

Oct 22 (TM) The planned liberalisation of the domestic aviation industry has made it harder for domestic aviation companies to take advantage of viability gap funding (VGF), The Sunday Morning Business reliably learns. Industry sources said that the Govt’s recent decision to allow international air carriers to operate domestic routes would complicate the process of obtaining VGF as their business plans would more..

Oct 22 (FT) Cabinet has approved a proposal by Prez Sirisena to make details of employment and training opportunities in the public sector accessible through the Smart Sri Lanka software, which functions under the SL Career Guidance Centre. Details of the vacancies available at all Govt ministries and institutions under their purview, including those published in the Govt Gazette, recruitment notices, information pertaining to special loan schemes and technical assistance more..

Oct 22 (FT) State Minister Vasantha Senanayake paid an official visit to Venezuela from 3 to 6 Oct, on the invitation of the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela Ruben Dario Molina, with a view to renewing and promoting closer co-operation between the two countries. During the visit, Senanayake held bilateral meetings with the Vice Minister of Venezuela on 4 Oct at the Yellow House Antonio José de Sucre, where they continued earlier discussions on the bilateral relationship of more..

Oct 22 (Island) UNP-led UNF Prez candidate Sajith Premadasa says that his main rival candidate Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was cutting a sorry figure by frequently turning for answers to his brother Mahinda and others around him, when asked questions by the media. Premadasa said that a person aspiring to be President of the country, should have the ability to face the media and answers questions confidently & on his own, more..

Oct 22 (CT) Middle order batsman Charith Asalanka will lead the Sri Lanka Emerging team throughout the Asia Emerging Team Cup tournament to be played in Bangladesh from 13 to 23 Nov. Eight teams are set to take part in this tournament. Asalanka's Richmond College teammate Kamindu Mendis will serve as his deputy. Pathum Nissanka who has been part of the Sri Lanka A and Emerging teams in the recent past, has also been named in the squad and is likely to open the batting. more..

Oct 22 (Xinhua) Seventy four people had died and over 55,000 had been infected by the dengue virus across Sri Lanka till the second week of October this year, the govt information department quoted the Epidemiology Unit as saying on Monday. Till Oct. 18, a total of 55,894 dengue cases were reported, with the highest number of cases reported in Colombo district which stood at 11,854, Gampaha, on the outskirts of Colombo, with 8,976, and Kalutara, also on the outskirts of Colombo, with 5,456. more..

Oct 22 (FT) A fresh set of guidelines for the procurement of goods and services, work, consultancy services and information systems by Govt institutions will be submitted to Parliament within the next three months after they were finalised following observations made by the Finance Ministry. Two review committees from the ministry had made observations, following Procurement Guidelines 2019 being more..

Oct 22 (LBO) The Planters’ Association of Ceylon sounded a cautionary note with regard to the health and sustainability of the entire tea industry – including Regional Plantation Companies (RPC), and Government and smallholder sectors at large – as tea and rubber prices at the Colombo auction continuously plummeted in 2019. The Planters’ Association said that there is an unexplained gap between bulk export and high Grown average widens in every month of 2019. more..

Oct 22 (CB) Rashid Khan was the first pick in the maiden The Hundred draft while Luke Wright was the last pick, with both players going to Trent Rockets who started and ended the event on Sunday (20). With only three overseas slots each available for the eight teams, there were several big name players who had no takers, including the likes of Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga and Kagiso Rabada. There were seven salary brackets - GBP 125,000, 100,000, 75,000, 60,000, 50,000, 40,000 and more..

Oct 22 (DM) SLPP prez candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa said it has been six months since the Easter Sunday attacks but the govt has not gotten its priorities figured out to give prominence to security. Addressing an election rally, he said when SLPP Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected as the president in 2005, the most pressing challenge the country faced was terrorism. “He was able to end it within two and a half years. more..

Oct 22 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe will testify before the PCoI tomorrow, Oct 23, to provide evidence on the decision to store paddy at the Mattala Airport in 2015. Earlier, PM informed the Commission that he could not appear before the Commission until the prez election is over. Testifying before the Commission, former PMB Chairman Bandara Dissanayake informed the Commission that the PM had personally instructed him to store paddy at the Mattala Airport. more..

Oct 22 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe sought a meeting with representatives of five Tamil parties that put forward 13 demands for consideration by prez candidates in the fray, a party leader said. The parties – ITAK, TELO, PLOTE, TMK and EPRLF – presented a common document to prez candidates outlining 13 demands including merging the Northern and Eastern provinces, scrapping the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and releasing those held under the PTA. more..

Oct 22 (FT) SL’s nationwide inflation in Sept 2019 determined under the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) increased to 5% from 3.4% recorded in Aug on a year-on-year basis. NCPI for all items for the month of Sept 2019 increased to 130.6 from 129.7 in Aug. Increase in the index point by 0.71% was due to the expenditure value increase of food items by 0.68% and expenditure value increase of non-food items by 0.03%. more..

Oct 22 (Island) SLPP leader and Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, yesterday, said that his party would not agree to any of the conditions laid down by the TNA. Rajapaksa said so, addressing a political rally in Beliatta in support of the candidature of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He said the North had been developed by the UPFA govt but the present administration was only trying to obtain the votes of the northern people without doing anything for them. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Chamal Rajapaksa, more..